Classics Exam 2

Question 1

Hesiod and the Muses

Answer 1

Invokes the muses, which is similar to the beginning of the Odyssey
Then settles into the subject matter

Question 2

Perses

Answer 2

Hesiod’s brother
Hesiod and Perses are in a dispute
Perses might not have existed at all
Hesiod might have made him up for the sake of the story

Question 3

Two kinds of strife

Answer 3

Considered goddesses
One is praise-worthy, the other is blame-worthy
One favors fighting (bad strife)
One favors hard work (good kind of strife)

Question 4

The Human Condition

Answer 4

Zeus made life hard for humans
Kept means of livelihood concealed

Question 5

Pandora

Answer 5

Means “all gift”; all gods give her as a gift to human men
Made out of earth and water, pretty on the outside, bad on the inside
Prototype for all women
Made as a punishment for humans for Prometheus stealing fire

Question 6

Epimetheus

Answer 6

Pandora’s husband; name means “afterthought”
Didn’t listen to Prometheus’ warning of not accepting gifts from the gods
Deeply misogynistic myth
Caused grief and sickness and sorrow

Question 7

Pandora’s Box/Jar

Answer 7

Box is mistranslation
Scattered misery and disease, left hope in the jar
Some see this as a good thing, some see this as a bad thing
Good example of Greek pessimism

Question 8

Golden Age

Answer 8

Perfect; no men, only women; lived blessed lives, didn’t labor, didn’t grow old; lived in paradise

Question 9

Silver Age

Answer 9

Made by gods of Olympus; notable worse
Women existed
People lived as babies for 100 years, matured, didn’t live as adults for very long
Still had minds of babies
Didn’t worship the gods, Zeus got mad and wiped them out

Question 10

Bronze Age

Answer 10

Worse; violent and very strong; ate no grain, just meat
They killed each other off

Question 11

Age of Heroes

Answer 11

A little better, but still violent; not identified with a metal
Generation of man that fought at Troy
Strong and noble; quality goes down, people get weaker; didn’t have a distinct end point

Question 12

Iron Age

Answer 12

Even worse; quality has significantly decreased; full of toil and pain; the Age we are in now; Zeus will destroy us when turmoil reigns

Question 13

The Fable of the Hawk and the Nightingale

Answer 13

Short story that conveys a moral
Moral (for the hawk): only a fool struggles against his superiors
Moral (for the nightingale): accept being in a position of weakness

Question 14

The Importance of Justice

Answer 14

First great theme in Works and Days
Weak should behave well, but strong should too
Just community contrasted by unjust community

Question 15

The Importance of Work

Answer 15

Second great theme
Need to be a hard worker in order to have wealth
Work hard to be successful

Question 16

Summer (1)

Answer 16

Cut wood to make plows
Get 2 oxen and a man around 40 to tend the plow

Question 17

Autumn

Answer 17

Plow farmland in earnest
If you wait too long, you get a meager harvest
Must pray in order to help grain grow thick and full

Question 18

Winter

Answer 18

Shouldn’t get lazy
Dress warm
Do work around the house

Question 19

Spring

Answer 19

Prune vines
Bring in crops

Question 20

Summer (2)

Answer 20

Rest should be taken
Men are worn out, women are horny
Winnow grain
Story comes full circle (like in the Odyssey)

Question 21

Marrying

Answer 21

Men: just about 30
Women: wed when they are 5 years a woman
Marry a virgin (the girl next door) to teach her prudence
Men see marriage as a necessary evil

Question 22

Sappho as Historical Figure

Answer 22

Know next to nothing about her for certain
Maybe an expression of personal opinion, maybe a communal voice rather than an individual voice
Don’t know parents or husband, but she was married and had kids
From lesbos which is the root of the word lesbian
Longing for women in Sappho’s poem

Question 23

Sappho’s Poetic Output

Answer 23

9 books of poetry; but we have less than 10% of her work; only 1 complete song; the rest are in fragments
Known as a musician and would have performed with a lyre
Emphasis on the lives of women; erotic desire for women
Likely taught young women’s’ choruses; likely developed bonds with her students

Question 24

Interpreting Sappho’s Fragment 31

Answer 24

Speaking about a women; ‘you’
Words are gendered, so we can tell that the speaker and the ‘you’ are female
Feelings of jealousy as man and women are flirting; physical and emotional responses
Fire and cold imagery; ‘greener than grass’; emotionally worked up; poem is very personal, which elicits feelings of compassion for her suffering
Poem ends abruptly; fragment of the original

Question 25

Polis

Answer 25

Pl. Poleis; independent community, more or less the size of a city; had autonomy of a state or nation Translated as 'city-state' Totalitarian society, took pride in polis Cruel political system; mass slavery of fellow Greeks

Question 26

Dark Age/Iron Age (c. 1150 - c. 800 BCE)

Answer 26

1150 BCE - end of Mycenaean period Dark Age - palaces fell, economy crashed, population rapidly declined

Question 27

Archaic Age (c. 800 - c. 490 BCE)

Answer 27

Population increased again Greek alphabet starts developing along with more trade '8th century Renaissance'; Archaic - beginning age (rebirth) Struggled to provide resources for everyone Colonialism - moving people out of Greece to the Mediterranean basin

Question 28

Perioikoi

Answer 28

Translates to 'dwellers around'; dwelled around Sparta in the surrounding villages Not slaves, but subject to Sparta's laws and had to pay tribute to the Spartans Allowed to keep up normal economic relations

Question 29

Helots

Answer 29

State-owned slaves, which was unusual Mostly in Messenia (west of Laconia) Worked land; each Spartan man allotted a part of land worked by helots Helots outnumbered Spartans 5:1; repeatedly rebelled which led the Spartans to become more militaristic Helots meant to free men of all obligations except military service

Question 30

Lycurgus

Answer 30

Shadowy figure; may or may not have actually existed Creation of Spartan system is attributed to him Developed in late 7th and early 6th century BCE

Question 31

Becoming a Spartan man

Answer 31

Agoge (upbringing) began at birth (govt determined a baby's viability); infants killed if physically deformed or other things like that Encouraged to be skilled and courageous in battle Physically fit; served up to 60 years old Normal Greek society - learn to read, write, speak, recite Homer Spartan society - conform and be in the military Marry at 20

Question 32

Syssition

Answer 32

Dining group; usually had around 15 members Foster solidarity among the group; each man required to provide food and drink from the land their helots worked They came together and sang songs

Question 33

Spartiates

Answer 33

Full grown male soldiers; elite warrior class About 9,000 Steadily declined Numerous wars led to large death tolls Sparta didn't allow outsiders, so they couldn't replenish their numbers

Question 34

Becoming a Spartan woman

Answer 34

Women married around 18 to a man of around 40 Brought up to become mothers of soldiers Bear children for the state Educated, some were literate Had lots of leisure time bc the helots did all the house labor; so they did things like running, wrestling, throwing the discus and the javelin They exercised and were well-fed; and were renowned for their beauty

Question 35

Spartan government

Answer 35

Two kings - 2 family lines of equal standing; highest religious officers Council of Elders - 30 people; kings + 28 other people; oligarchic Assembly - all Spartiate men; democratic; voting; met at every full moon Council of Overseers - men over 60; served for 1 year, couldn't be reelected; watched over to make sure there was no abuse of power; would examine boys every 10 days in the nude

Question 36

Who were the Persians?

Answer 36

North of modern-day Iran Cyrus the Great vanquished the native peoples Places under their command commonly revolted against Persian overlords; they had to pay tribute to the Persians Ionian Greeks rebelled, Persians suppressed them Demanded Athenians subordinate themselves Athens and Eretria sent aid to Ionian Greeks Persians took Eretria as payback

Question 37

The Battle of Marathon (490 BCE)

Answer 37

NE of Athens in Athenian territory; sent 10,000 Hoplite soldiers Sent a herald to Sparta to ask for help, Sparta declined due to a religious holiday Persians had 35,000 lightly armed soldiers Persians lost 6,500 men and Athenians lost 192 men Persians fled; led to a more solid construction of Athenian identity Messenger that ran the 26 miles from Marathon back to Athens inspired the modern marathon run (supposedly dropped dead after bringing news of Persian defeat)

Question 38

Hoplite

Answer 38

Heavily armed foot soldier Armor: Shield made of bronze Grieves for shin protection (basically just shin guards) Bronze breastplate Helmet, spear, and sword Elite warriors; socio-economic elite (had to buy their own armor)

Question 39

The Battle of Thermopylae (480 BCE)

Answer 39

'Hot Gates'; pass to get in was very small 300 Spartiates and 7,000 Greek allies led by Leonidas Persians found a mountain goat path and used that to surround the Greeks 300 Thespians stayed Greeks were slaughtered; good example of warrior ethos Went down as a great moment in Spartan history

Question 40

The Battle of Salamis (480 BCE)

Answer 40

Island; west coast of Athens Naval battle; Greeks won Persian allies - Egyptians and Phoenicians Huge Persian loss; Xerxes retreated to Asia Athenians in charge of navy They both took the winter 'off' (too cold)

Question 41

The Battle of Plataea (479 BCE)

Answer 41

SW of Thebes, NW of Athens Led by a Spartan; largest army the Greeks put together; 40,000 Hoplites and 70,000 light-armed troops 100,000 Persians and their allies Fierce fighting Last battle against Persians on Greek soil Won by Greeks working together; common Greek identity being formed Shared blood, language, and way of life

Question 42

Eurymedon Vase

Answer 42

IMAGE ID Battle of Eurymedon Told the Persians to 'get fucked' Spartan holds his erect penis in his right hand, Persian is bent over and facing the viewer Depicts humiliation of Persians; Spartans sodomizing Persians; Persians are 'bottom' Penetrator = power and dominance Symbolism of Greek dominance over Persians; led to very discriminatory ideals that still continue today between 'Western' peoples and 'Eastern' peoples